In his opening remarks, McKinsey Managing Director Dominic Barton explained the firm’s decision to locate here, citing Denver’s advantages as a business destination, adding “We want to see more global champions coming from Denver.” He also quipped about Coloradans’ 1972 decision to reject the chance to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, drawing laughter by noting “the chutzpah of this place.”

The discussion was wide-ranging and touched extensively on private/public sector cooperation. Among the themes was the importance of space-based businesses and technologies, both as a source of economic growth for Colorado and as the source of emerging tools for the private and public sectors – for example, the use of geospatial data by local governments for problem-solving.

Linhart PR shares with McKinsey an exciting Colorado-based aerospace client and it’s been a pleasure to engage with their smart, energetic young team.

I don’t know whether McKinsey’s arrival in an emerging global business center like Denver is a leading indicator or a lagging indicator (I hope it’s the former). Despite my former affiliation with a McKinsey competitor, I welcome the firm to Denver and look forward to their collaboration and contributions to our region.